The St. James Hotel, located in historic downtown Cimarron,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, is a historic hotel, restaurant and saloon. Today, guests can stay at the historic hotel, in either the historic section (main building with bar and restaurant) or in a modern addition (new building). The hotel is in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and is part of the Cimarron Historic District.

History

The St. James was first built in 1872, on the recommendation of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

, by Henri (later Henry) Lambert, personal

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

to President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Lambert moved west and settled in Elizabethtown, New Mexico, with hopes of making a wealthy strike. When he found little

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, he opened a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

and saloon. At this time, Elizabethtown, Cimarron, and much of the surrounding area was owned by

Lucien B. Maxwell Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell (September 14, 1818 – July 25, 1875) was a mountain man, rancher, Reconnaissance, scout, and farmer who at one point owned more than . Along with Thomas Catron and Ted Turner, Maxwell was one of the largest private lan ...

and was a part of the huge Maxwell Land Grant. Maxwell enticed Lambert to come to Cimarron, whereupon he founded the Lambert Inn, which would later be renamed the St. James. In its day, the St. James was visited by many famous lawmen and notorious outlaws and was the scene of many

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

s. A favorite saying in the area became "It appears Lambert had himself another man for breakfast." and the usual question around Cimarron was "Who was killed at Lambert's last night?"

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Kansas, Dodge City, Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, and Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight ...

, his brother

Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and Marshal, lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil Earp, Virgil and W ...

, and their wives stayed at the Inn on their way to

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Prospecting, prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last ...

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

always stayed in Room 14.

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age o ...

stayed at the Inn and took an entire village of Native Americans living nearby on the road with his show. The outlaw Davy Crockett, a descendant of the original

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

, killed three Buffalo Soldiers inside the hotel's bar room in 1876. Other notable customers were

Clay Allison Robert A. Clay Allison, also known as Clay Allison (September 2, 1841 – July 1, 1887) was a cattle rancher, cattle broker, and sometimes gunfighter of the American Old West. He fought for the Confederate States of America, Confederacy in the ...

, Black Jack Ketchum, and

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

. In 1901, when Henry Lambert's sons replaced the roof of the St. James, they found many bullet holes. A double layer of hard wood stopped anyone sleeping upstairs from being killed. Today, the dining room ceiling still holds some twenty bullet holes. The St. James fell into disrepair after the railroad came through and effectively killed the Santa Fe trail, as the gold in the area moreover dwindled. From 1926–1985, the hotel passed from owner to owner, but in 1985 it was restored to its former glory. In January 2009 the hotel was purchased by the Express UU Bar Ranch; a property of Express Ranches (headquartered in

Yukon, Oklahoma Yukon is a city in eastern Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 23,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Founded in the 1890s, the town was named in reference to a gold rush in Yukon Territory, Canada, at the ...

). Following extensive renovations where the formal dining room and bar were merged into one large area and the outside deck and lawn became a walled-in courtyard and patio complete with a fountain, the hotel was re-opened on June 22, 2009. On September 1, 2024, the hotel announced via its Facebook page that it would permanently close its doors on September 16, 2024. On December 19, 2024, it was announced the hotel and restaurant would reopen with new owners on December 20, 2024. The restaurant will now feature “Old Western” and “Classic New Mexican” dishes.

Notable rooms

*14:

' room. *17: Mary Lambert's room

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James Hotel Cimarron New Mexico New Mexico Territory Hotels in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Colfax County, New Mexico 1872 establishments in New Mexico Territory Hotel buildings completed in 1872 Wyatt Earp Jesse James Buffalo Bill